01 01 Looking back towards the house from Omaha beach. 052 HOUSES ISSUE 22
PROJECT 05 Omaha HOLIDAY HOUSE by Architecture Smith + Scully OMAHA Built in stages, the two parts of this Omaha holiday house fit perfectly together to form a relaxed space to enjoy the beach lifestyle. Photography by Samuel Hartnett HOUSES ISSUE 22 053
1 8 3 5 6 5 2 12 11 9 10 13 5 6 1 Living 2 Dining 3 Kitchen Bedroom 5 Bathroom 6 Family room Deck 8 Covered deck 9 Garage 10 Courtyard 11 Outdoor fire 12 Outdoor shower 13 Covered walkway Ground floor plan First floor plan 0 5m Omaha beach is around an hour north of Auckland by car and a popular weekend retreat. The owners of this house, designed by Architecture Smith + Scully, purchased the site when there were only a few houses around. When Director Carolyn Smith started work on designing the plans, there was very little surrounding context. Smith designed the house assuming there would be maximum site coverage houses on either side of this one eventually. It is a beach front site so this was a reasonable and fortuitous assumption. The clients brief was for a holiday house built in two stages. They wanted a house that looked and felt like a kiwi bach but would be able to stand its own amongst the big budget houses they knew would eventually flank it. The clients really wanted the house to be robust so they could enjoy the space without worrying about upkeep. Smith says the materials were selected with this in mind; sandy feet and surfboards wouldn t be a concern, and the space can almost be hosed out. The materials make up a very sandy, neutral colour palette. Plywood as the main cladding, fair-faced concrete block and polished concrete floors have been used for economy and easy maintenance. The plan is made up of two blocks, the first built in 2006 and the second in 2010 with the landscaping completed in 2011. Smith had to design the whole plan in order to have it approved through the Council and the Omaha Design Control Committee. The plan is two plywood boxes with an open walkway linking them, which creates a nice sheltered outdoor living area. This was quite important and is often employed in house designs in the area as it is almost always windy at Omaha, says Smith. The easterly wind would make it difficult to always enjoy the space on the beach side of the house, so the courtyard creates an alternative sheltered space. This is a house that looks and feels like a relaxed holiday home, and is a modest and graceful asset for the neighbourhood. 02 The house viewed from the front lawn. 02 05 HOUSES ISSUE 22
03 03 The dining and living area have hard-wearing polished concrete floors and concrete block walls. 0 0 The kitchen looks out onto the dunes through bi-fold sliding doors. HOUSES ISSUE 22 055
05 05 The first floor deck has fantastic views over the dunes to Omaha beach 056 HOUSES ISSUE 22
Architect Architecture Smith + Scully 6/6 Kingsland Terrace, Kingsland Auckland 1021 09 85 629 www.smith-scully.com Practice profile: Architecture Smith + Scully specialise in residential, interior and hospitality projects. Project team: Carolyn Smith, Craig Jansen, and Kristan Deed. Consultants Engineer:Harris Foster Consulting Surveyors: Buckton Consultants Planning: Zomac Planning Solutions, Jane Douglas Landscape Architect: Strachan Group Landscape Architects, Campbell Strachan Builder: Andy Cook Construction Products External walls: Plytech AlpineClad grooved plywood panels Internal walls: Stack bond concrete block walls, honed finish Flooring: Polished concrete Windows and doors: 25 micron powdercoated aluminium joinery Ceiling: Decortech Decorative Acoustic panelling Roofing: Dimond Styline profiled aluminium roofing, Colorcote ARX; Ardex Butynol Roofing upper balcony: Louvretec 180 opening roof louvres Kitchen cabinetry: Sclim Aluminium modular frame 500 Series with Melteca panels in classic white handles by Katalogue; splashback Seratone Silverseal; island bench-top SCE Amber Nimbus; appliances by Fisher & Paykel Bathroom: Mico; Robertsons; cabinetry - Seratone Silverseal Time schedule Designed and built in 2 stages over a 5 year period. Project areas Site size: 1130m² Total building area: 33m² HOUSES ISSUE 22 05